As many of you know,The USA,this wonderful country of ours, has mostly given up making decorative Christmas items. We import our lights and ornaments, glass and otherwise, plastic and non plastics artificial Christmas Trees as well as fresh Douglas Firs and the various tree lights mini and otherwise.Near and dear to our heart are Nativity Sets which are also imported.
Most of these Christmas imports come from China, but, given the increasing difficulty in doing business in and with China, importers have been moving farther afield, primarily to the Philippines and Vietnam. We also bring in Christmas articles from Canada, The UK and Italy.
Given the impact of this Great Recession on all parts of our economy, it is not surprising to find that volumes of Christmas imports are down significantly in 2009 when compared to 2007. Most categories of Christmas imports are down between 40 and 50%
The Great Recession as impacted many established importers negatively. They have lost long established factory relationships, had factories close down or go bankrupt, change product mix to exclude Christmas product oe the importer has lost their bank lines used for funding of import container-loads of product.
As a retailer, albeit an internet retailer, we have reacted by establishing direct factory relationships with smaller factories in China, the Philippines and elsewhere. We are designing our own add and stand alone Christmas items with these factories to put our own distinct look on the traditional Christmas outdoor displays. This looks like a good strategy for us. Time and the market will tell.